This invention relates to beacons for making an individuals visible, more particularly it relates to hand-held battery-operated beacons used for signalling taxicabs, especially at night.
1. Background
It is customary in most countries, when hailing a taxicab, for the potential rider to signal the taxicab by extending his or her arm outward and/or upward. In order to make eye contact with the taxicab driver, especially when there are parked cars, signs, street lamps or other objects blocking the line of sight between a taxicab driver and oneself, the person hailing the taxicab often takes the additional step of stepping off the curb and out onto the street in order to position him or herself within the view of oncoming traffic in the hope that this traffic includes taxis. To achieve this, the person hailing the taxicab sometimes even traverses the entire first lane of traffic so that parked vehicles do not block the taxi driver's line of sight. It is somewhat dangerous to do this, however, especially at night. For example, a Jan. 5, 1996 article on page B1 of the New York Times recounted that in New York City alone just during the year 1994 there were 14,000 accidents involving cars striking pedestrians, that these accidents resulted in 240 deaths and that the first pedestrian killed by a vehicle was killed by a taxi. According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission in 1994 there were 4,417 accidents involving taxicabs, 82% of which resulted in personal injuries. As a result of these statistics, jaywalking of all kinds has received increased attention as a public policy issue and statistics may be maintained as to the number of annual accidents caused by taxicabs attempting to cross lanes or otherwise being careless in trying to reach someone that is signalling them for a ride.
Furthermore, when signalling a taxicab, success can lead to other problems. For one thing, two taxicabs may show up at the same time and compete getting to you fastest. Second, the taxicab that notices you may be travelling in a traffic lane on the opposite side of the street and may only notice you only half a block away, in which case to respond to your signal it would have to cut across the lanes of traffic to get to you. Either of these additional problems could cause an accident.
2. Prior Art
Light signalling devices are known in the prior art either to direct airplanes taxiing on the runway or for policemen to direct pedestrians or traffic. None of these devices are uniquely suited for hailing taxicabs, as the present invention is.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,077 to Joyce discloses a light toy having a light source such as a bulb that sends a beam of light into a nonopaque tube along its axis. The beam is reflected back into the tube by a reflective surface on the inner side of the cap at the other end. It could be used for signalling or as a toy. This device is ill suited to hailing taxicabs. One would have to walk around with a science fiction looking device with a light element sticking out of it--that is, it lacks a convenient mechanism for shifting from "use" position to carrying position. Furthermore, it would not be easily understood by taxicab drivers to indicate an attempt to signal a ride.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,255 to Strodtman discloses a combination flashlight-baton in which the tail end of the device flashlight barrel has telescoping tubular members attached to a spring that extends outward with a snap of the wrist. To extend the baton, the user holds the flashlight by the handle with the tail end pointing away and sharply snaps the wrist forward in a slinging action so that the telescoping members are extended outwardly due to the centrifugal force. While the Strodtman patent contains telescoping tubular members that are shifted outward when the device is in "use" position, this device too is ill suited for hailing a taxicab and would not be instantly recognized by taxicab drivers as an attempt to signal a ride. Furthermore, the sharp snapping action that is required to activate the Strodtman device is singularly ill suited to hailing a taxicab amidst others doing the same in a crowded area. In addition, since the light extends axially outward rather than radially it is not suited for signalling at all but rather for shedding light on another object.
Numerous devices are known for modification of flashlights but none of these are uniquely suited for hailing a taxicab. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,228 to Mui discloses a collapsible light wand formed from a telescopic tube assembly comprised of a plurality of overlapping translucent tube sections, the outermost tube section being removably attachable to the light source end of a flashlight. Other examples are U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,103 to Pasch and U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,251 to Shaffer which disclose a flashlight wand attachments for use as pedestrian crossing devices and to direct traffic. These devices are also not suited for hailing a taxicab. Since the light extends axially and not radially these devices would not be visible from all directions. In addition, the devices would not be recognized as an attempt to signal for a ride in a taxicab. The devices also do not contain an effective mechanism for shifting from "carry" position to "use" position.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,646,213 to Fanelli, 4,186,430 to Britton and 147,204 to Walton each teach the idea of a telescoping lantern containing a spring held light source, in this case a candle, that is held within a cylindrical housing. None of these would be suitable for use in hailing a taxicab and also suffer from the drawbacks already mentioned.
For both safety and convenience, there is a pressing need for a hand held beacon uniquely suited for hailing taxicabs, particularly at night, but also adaptable for daytime use, especially one that is convenient to carry, easy to operate and adaptable to being carried by hand, in carrying cases, purses and the like when the light is in "off" mode. It is especially important that the device, when held and activated, be one that would be instantly recognized by taxicab drivers as an attempt to signal for a ride in a taxicab.